Treasury Secretary Yellen is saying:

  • no way in which inflation is a decade-long problem
  • China guilty of unfair trade practices
  • Some of China tariffs on goods do not serve US strategic interests
  • Biden administration looking to reconfigure tariffs in a way that would be more strategic

Although Trump initiated tariffs on Chinese goods, the economy was not in an inflationary period as a result of Covid. As a result, there was lots of comments about the inflationary implications, but with the spigots wide open, the complaints were quieted.

The Biden administration has kept the tariffs in place despite complaints about them when they were initiated. Now with inflation higher they are looking more at the details of the tariffs as a way to potentially lower the impact.